Energetic and colorfully descriptive.
An ill-fated move into an inherited house may present an opportunity for a dark history to repeat itself.
The home has been in her family for around half a century, but Evie Archer’s first time seeing Hobbie House is the day she, her brother, and their mother arrive in search of a place to start fresh. After her parents’ divorce, life in New York City has become too expensive. But strange events and bad omens begin to appear almost immediately after they get to Ravenglass, a small Berkshires town, and the disappearance of Holly, Evie’s mom’s and aunt’s cousin, from the house 40 years prior doesn’t seem to have faded from local lore as much as the Archers had hoped. Before she realizes what’s happening, the shadow that suddenly starts following Evie everywhere begins to drag her deeper into a dark world where everyone she cares about stands in the way and the line between what Evie wants and what the shadow wants starts to blur. Sibling friction—between Evie and her brother and between Evie’s mom and maternal aunt—complements elements like an utterly creepy talking doll and dreams of a girl in a bonnet. Evie makes some decisions that will have readers yelling “don’t do that!” in excellent horror-movie fashion. Plenty of backstory is given to fill in the story of the disappearance of 15-year-old Holly Hobbie. Evie’s family is cued as white.
Energetic and colorfully descriptive. (Horror. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9780593386217
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
This high-suspense thriller hits all the marks with its slow reveal and cross-genre appeal.
Creepy supernatural executioners roam the woods at night in Dennard’s latest.
On the cusp of the year 2000, Freddie Gellar, a high school senior and self-proclaimed Answer Finder, untangles a plot worthy of a professional detective. After she reports hearing screaming in the woods and accidentally gets students from rival school Fortin Prep arrested, Freddie becomes a member of the Berm High Prank Squad. Suddenly, popular classmates—like the attractive Kyle Friedman and class president Laina Steward—notice her. With her best friend, Divya Srivastava, by her side, Freddie navigates teen life and her unexpected physical attraction to Theo Porter, who’s Fortin’s prank master. Meanwhile, grisly goings-on ensue as murdered bodies with deep ties to village lore appear in the woods. Freddie, a fan of The X-Files, channels her inner Scully and Mulder to solve the mystery—but as she seeks answers, she finds more than she bargained for. Allusions to the ’90s, including Nokia phones and boy bands, realistically frame the gory content within the setting. Sensual scenes add romantic appeal, and Freddie’s narrative voice echoes the emotionally intense refrains of adolescence as she navigates coming-of-age themes. Freddie and Theo are cued white, and the supporting cast contains broad ethnic diversity as well as queer representation.
This high-suspense thriller hits all the marks with its slow reveal and cross-genre appeal. (map) (Supernatural thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781250334664
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
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